Young Adult Debut Promotions (YADP) is a post I do to help out debut authors, and to get them noticed. My posts will definitely include a feature of the book, a feature of the author, and a giveaway, with an interview, guest post, or excerpt optional. If you would like more information about
YADP click
here and scroll down until you come to the section talking about it.
Today I am featuring...
Anne Applegate
And she will be doing an interview and giveaway!
The Last Academy
by Anne Applegate
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: April 30, 2013
by Point (an imprint of Scholastic)
Goodreads / Purchase
What is this prep school preparing them for?
Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a
falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy
are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are
gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with
secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends mysteriously disappears, but the
teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam wakes
up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly
plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible
brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam—and
readers—stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.
*A copy was provided by Scholastic for review purposes*
Something dark and
terrible is brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam
– and readers – stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut that must be
re-read to be believed.
Yep. That sums it up
pretty well.
When I started this book I thought it would be a typical
goes-to-boarding-school-people-disappear-because-someone-is-killing-the-kids
and I was waiting till the end to decide if I liked how Applegate formed the
mystery and chose the culprit…but then I got to the end and it went a
completely different way. I was
completely surprised, but very pleased and impressed. I never, in a million years, saw that ending
coming. The thing I was most impressed
with was the staging. Throughout the
book there were events that, at the time, you thought were just events and were
there for no reason, but then you get to the end and look back and go like
“Oooh, so that’s what that meant.”. This
book is written in a very unique way, in that a ton of hints are dropped in the
beginning and middle of the book, but nothing is actually explained until the
end. I’m just amazed that Applegate
managed to pull it off. She managed to
keep my attention and pull me into the story.
I loved her humor in the book, and her writing was really good. I liked the hint of romance in this book as
well, even though it didn’t play a huge part in this book. And, like I said, the ending was amazing.
I really liked the character development in this book. You really got to know each character very
well. Mark, the love interest, isn’t a
huge part of this book, but you still feel like you know him because of his
visits to his mom. You get to learn a
bit about him. I also liked how
Applegate developed Brynne and Nora, and how we got to connect with them. And I also loved getting to know Camden. She was a very strong character, and I thoroughly
enjoyed reading about her.
What with the awesome staging and story line, jaw-dropping
ending, and cute writing, this is a wonderful debut, and I can’t wait to see
what Applegate comes up with next.
And I finally get what the title means LOL.
4.5 pink flowers
Favorite Quotes:
#1 Favorite Quote of All Time: Nora got to the doors of Kelser first. She lay into them without slowing down, arms
out to push them open. Her whole body
smacked against them and she crumpled like a swatted fly. I made a note to remember the doors at Kelser
House opened out instead of in. Nora picked herself up and pulled the door
open.
~Page 43-44,
uncorrected ARC edition
I glanced at my watch.
7:20 in the morning. I still had
to get back down to my room, make my bed for inspection, brush my teeth, yell
at Tamara for having guys in our room last night, and arrive on time for my
first class. It was going to be a busy
morning.
~Page 48-49,
uncorrected ARC edition
If you ate nothing but old books and dust bunnies, this room
would smell like your farts.
~Page 252, uncorrected
ARC edition
Interview:
1. Why did you decide
to become a writer?
This
question made me laugh out loud. I guess the answer is, “Because I couldn’t
help myself.”
I
didn’t decide to be a writer any more than I decided to have freckles or a size
8 foot -- it was just part of my life skills grab bag. I imagine this is true
for lots of people. For a long time, I
was uncomfortable expressing it. But you
know what? I’m 38 years old. I figured it was high time to let my freak
flag fly.
2. Who were your
biggest influences?
In
college, I hardly took any courses that weren’t mandatory. Classes are
expensive, yo. It never crossed my mind to try anything beyond the list I
needed to graduate. As it turned out, Creative
Writing 101 filled a requirement.
I
expected textbooks and a heavy reading load, similar to my other classes. Instructions like: Write a
15 page essay on what makes a good story, pop quizzes will count as 15% of your
final grade. But there was only one
assignment. Write thirty pages of fiction, and read them in front of your
classmates.
I was
in love from the first day. That
fumbling, awkward love that makes you stumble all over yourself, uncaring,
because you’re so pink-cheeked giddy, thinking about it all the time. I adored everything – listening to other
people’s writing, talking about the stories, reading my own stuff out
loud. The teacher had this great vibe
that made his classroom a safe place. It’s
a true and rare talent to be able to do that for someone else.
When
the semester ended, I was completely moped. There was only that one creative
writing class listed in the course catalog, and I’d used it up. Desperate, I went to the teacher’s office and
pretty much begged him to help me find a way to take another. He must have thought I was a huge dope, but
he just smiled and said, “All you need to do is fill out Creative Writing 102 at the registrar’s.”
I took
another semester, guilty for taking a class that didn’t count towards
graduation, but unable to turn the opportunity down. When the second semester was over, I told
myself it was time to get serious about my education and went back to my major. I never took another writing class in college. That professor gave me such a great gift, and
I don’t even remember his name.
3. Where do you like
to write?
I love
my writing desk, but it’s not pretty. Nobody
wonders if they’ve stepped into a Pottery Barn store when they see it, what
with the mismatched junk décor. But give
me a cup of coffee and some headphones, and you’ll have to shuck me like an
oyster to get me out of there. Lots of
times, I’ll get inspired by song lyrics or quotes. I’ll scrawl them on sheets of paper and tape
them to the wall. It makes the place
look a little like a madwoman’s cell. My
favorite right now is one that says, “Tell the truth and run.” It’s helping me get through this interview! J
4. Do you have a
special routine you like to do before you write?
If I’m stuck, I’ll wake up early in the morning. At four o’clock, I’ll slip downstairs and
write before my brain gets a chance to turn on.
There’s something fragile about
that hour, half the time I feel like I could cry from the shivers. At the same time, all these crazy good ideas
slip past my filters and onto the paper, and I’m too tired to delete them.
5. When and how did
you get the idea for The Last
Academy?
At the time, I was a stay-at-home
mother with two young kids, preparing to have a third. It felt like my whole life was diapers, Dr.
Suess, sleepless nights, and making about a million peanut butter & jelly
sandwiches. Moms know what I’m talking
about – 2:40 in the morning and a kid wakes up?
Time to mom. Trying to make
dinner? Momming. Sneaking into the kitchen to call someone on
the phone? That’s usually when moms are
needed most.
Now, I have to confess that I love
the life. I love the play dough and the
play dates and the mom friends and the Mommy & Me classes. But after five
years on the job, I’d come to a place where I also needed to do something not
parenting related.
“Join a book club,” a friend
suggested in the park one afternoon.
“Read ANNA KARENINA, meet up at someone’s house, have a cup of tea, and
gossip about made up people,”
I had time to retort, “Like I have
time to read a whole book in a month,” before rushing over to stop my kid from
eating park sand.
But the fantasy – adults! Tea! Talking in a normal pitched voice! I kept turning it around in my mind, trying
to make it work. Finally, it came to
me. I’d join a writing group. I had no intention of actually writing. But I’d get out of the house for a couple
hours a week and have someone else read
to me. Pretty brilliant, right? I found a group and signed up.
As it turned out, I was the youngest
person in the group by thirty years. I
walked in, took one look, and thought, well,
this is not for me. But I didn’t
want to be rude, so I sat down.
It was one of the funniest groups of
people I had ever met. By the end of the
90 minutes, I wanted to be adopted. The
leader turned to me and said, “Do you have something in mind to share?” When I said no, she threw some flinty eyed
appraisal my way. “Well, you can’t join
this group unless you bring something to read. Every time.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or
cry. I’d been reading the same chapter
in a Sookie Stackhouse novel for three weeks (in fifteen minute segments, in
the bathroom, while watching over small bubble bathers). (Don’t judge.) There was no way I could write three pages
worth of coherent thoughts in two weeks. I mean, might as well send me home with
NASA blueprints and ask me to come back with a spaceship.
But I really wanted to join this
group, where no one had even once mentioned Dora the Explorer. I went home and started writing what turned
into The Last Academy. So yeah – diapers
and desperation to join a sixty-something clique was basically my inspiration
for writing this book.
THIS OR THAT
1. Dark chocolate or
milk chocolate?
Milk chocolate.
2. Cats or dogs?
Dogs! Slightly allergic to cats, which makes them
beautiful from afar and sneezy up close.
3. Hardcover,
paperback or ebook?
Paperback,
because I’ve got a Velveteen Rabbit relationship with books. I fold their
pages, hold them one-handed, bending them so far open the binding breaks. If their content is scary or annoying, I
throw them across the room. I take them
into a bubble bath or the beach. I use them as coasters. It ain’t pretty being a book in Chez
Applegate.
WHAT’S YOUR
FAVORITE?
1.
Movie?
Pulp Fiction
2. Ice cream flavor?
Cherry
Garcia
3. Animal?
Does Animal
from The Muppets count? (*Yes he does lol*)
4. Fictional
character?
Severus
Snape
Thank you, Emily, for hosting! These questions have been a lot of fun to
answer. -Anne
THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE FUNNIEST INTERVIEW I'VE EVER READ!!!!
Giveaway:
The Rules:
~There will be 1 winner
~Giveaway ends on May 20, 2013 @ 12:00 A.M.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Get to know Anne Applegate:
Bio:
Anne Applegate is the author of THE LAST ACADEMY as well as
this little blurb right here. She always thought writing about herself in third
person would feel pretentious and weird, but it turns out she kind of enjoys it.
Connect:
THANKS SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY TODAY, ANNE APPLEGATE!!! :)
